[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/VuJRTXX.png[/img] [i][sub]Battleground of Hope and Ruin[/sub] Homurahara Academy[/i] [sup]_________________________________[/sup][/center]It would be a lie to say Jigen wasn't a little shaken by the true, raw power of servants on full display - well, maybe a lot shaken, but he did his very best not to show it too much. At Saber's suggestion Jigen firmly nodded, intending to follow his lead, although... there was something... a little different about the Greek hero, wasn't there? He didn't look any different on the outside, but Jigen sensed a subtle change somehow. Now might have been the time to wonder about it, but there was a lot going on all at once - the Caster, Theseus' friend, putting up the projection and the false Herakles riling up his servant. Then, the biggest surprise for the student - [quote][i][color=0072bc]"Then, I'll leave the kid to you while I do so."[/color][/i][/quote] ...huh? Wait, wasn't a master supposed to stick by their servant? Didn't Saber just suggest they go together? [b]"Saber, wait, I - "[/b] the boy was cut off by Saber's apology and the assertion that the enemy on the big screen that had attack was too powerful, too dangerous to leave alone - and apparently, too dangerous to have to worry about protecting a master as he went into battle against her. Jigen supposed he understood, but... well, it stung, just a bit. Nothing he wasn't used to though, he'd get over it and become a partner that Saber wouldn't have to worry about bringing along with him during a fight. If he survived the night, that is. As Jigen stood beside the Rider and the master smushed close to his chest, the boy's fists tightly clenched as he watched Saber leap away in pursuit of the enemy, the other banquet-goers moved into action. A few new faces appeared, one making a bold claim, and finally - a fierce torrent of attacks from close-by. A battle, something expected, but Jigen was still an inexperienced master. He had to trust Saber's judgement, trust this other servant and his master to protect him, trust - [i]Wait wait wait[/i], was he really content to be some bystander after all? Though they'd only met earlier that morning, Jigen [i]did[/i] trust in Saber - and he trusted Saber's friend the musician as the magical barrier raised up, so the young master broke away from the man he'd been entrusted to and made his way behind it before the situation got any worse. [i]Agh! Should I wait for Saber to get back or should I go support him? I should go, right? Surely the answer is [b]'go!'[/b][/i] Jigen thought to himself, completely unaware that the enemy Saber had left to pursue was already far out of his reach. Still, he waited for an opening to escape and reunite with his servant. [right][sup][color=FFD700][@Wine & Dine][/color][@Breo][/sup][/right][hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/y33CMFH.png[/img] [i][sub][/sub] Homurahara Academy[/i] [sup]_________________________________[/sup][/center]Patiently, Berserker listened to the information his master fed him about the other servants. Patiently, he listened to Faker and the others trade jests, insults, and even honest words. Patiently, the boy king watched some servants depart and others arrive - and patiently, he mulled over the masked servant's words. His eyes flickered over to the servant beside him, curious to see the man's response. To the pharaoh's momentary surprise, he found a serene smile. Berserker smiled too, then - not a peaceful one like Faker, but a small grin baring his teeth. Begrudging, amused. Even now he didn't know Faker's true name, but the man had been right when they first met - they were alike after all. [color=mediumslateblue]"So that is your true nature?"[/color] A rhetorical question, but one the pharaoh voiced all the same. [color=mediumslateblue]"Interesting."[/color] His tone was light, near boyish with genuine intrigue. The man under the guise of Hercules who laid low people and empires alike - despite everything, he still desperately clung to the idea of heroism. More than the brutes who fled and the brute still remaining, Faker strived to be a hero, to change himself. It was touching, almost, and even separated Berserker could tell through his bond with his master that Faker's words had seeped deep into the man's core, his words were unneeded. Berserker agreed. [color=mediumslateblue][i]Understood.[/i][/color] He felt his master's magic in Faker, heard the musician's notes mingle with the shouts of the banquet's host signal the start of a battle. Three on three, was it? In that case... Berserker's gaze fell upon the long haired Rider protecting two masters. Though much shorter than the other man, Berserker was distinctly 'looking down' on him. The demonic servant he would leave to Faker - that man wouldn't be felled by such an assault, as brutal as it was. Cold and swift the small pharaoh approached the Rider. In one hand a dagger of dark design manifested, in the other a slim, ornate horn of bronze. For a servant with his master so close, a mind would be a terrible thing to lose - and so, a tune of madness to accompany Caster's triumphant song. Berserker brings the horn to his mouth and blows it in the Rider's direction, it's sound both charming and discordant at once, confusing and enraging. [right][sup][color=FFD700][@Wine & Dine][/color][@SSW][@Aoko Aozaki][/sup][/right]